250p offer equals a 60% premiumBoard calls it 'highly opportunistic'Analyst suggests 270p valuationMotor and home insurer Direct Line Insurance (DLG) received its third bid of 2024 with larger UK rival Aviva (AV.) pitching a 250p cash-and-shares after the closing bell last night.Direct Line shares jumped 59p or 37% to 218p, more than reversing their losses year-to-date and leaving them at a six-mo

Associated British Foods (ABF)Price: £21.93Market cap: £16.1 billionAs the proverb says, mighty oaks from little acorns grow, and that has certainly been the case for conglomerate Associated British Foods (ABF), which has transformed itself from a single bakery in 1935 to a group of market-leading food and clothing businesses.Best-known for its Primark low-cost fashion stores, which are a featur

We begin proceedings with two takeover approaches, one successful, the other less so, for now at least.First, Swiss bourse operator SIX agreed to buy UK junior marketplace Aquis Exchange (AQX:AIM) for 727p in cash, representing a 120% premium to the previous closing price of 330p.SIX, which operates the Swiss and Spanish stock markets, called the deal 'a compelling strategic opportunity which will

A global enterprise applications gorilla, Salesforce (CRM:NYSE) has spent 2024 (and 2023) trying to rebuild profit margins after activist investor StarboardValue started kicking up a stink. Net profit margins had sunk to low single digits during the pandemic, which might be understandable, but why were they not recovering, was StarboardValue's reasonable question.It seems to have done the trick, w

If it seems as though each week brings news of yet another takeover offer for a UK firm, the actual figures from the ONS (Office for National Statistics) are quite mind-boggling.Aside from the number of listed companies being bought, either by 'inward' investors or domestic buyers, hundreds of privately-owned firms are being snapped up every quarter.If you are in a position where a company you own

Strong trading in four months to OctoberFull year profit to meet expectationsEfficiency gains to drive profitabilityAnimal genetics specialist Genus (GNS) jumped 4% after reporting strong trading for the four months to 31 October and reiterating full year profit guidance.The shares are down around 20% over the last year following a profit warning in February 2024, reflecting weak pork prices in Ch

First half revenue up 27%Strong start to second halfBudget impact of £11 millionPubs and hotels group Young & Co (YNGA:AIM) delivered strong like-for-like revenue growth in the first half to 30 September and said recent trading has been strong with an acceleration in like-for-like growth.Investors gave the company the thumbs-up, marking the shares higher by 18.8p or 2% to 934.8p, though they rema

The FTSE 100 made a tepid start to the week on Monday, ending just about in the green and falling below earlier highs, as caution prevailed ahead of the US presidential election.The FTSE 100 index closed up 7.09 points, or 0.1%, at 8,184.24. The FTSE 250 ended down 18.45 points, or 0.1%, at 20,461.29, and the AIM All-Share closed down 3.63 points, 0.5%, at 735.37.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.1% at 8

Fall in third quarter vaccine salesFull year profit reiteratedQ3 dividend of 15p per shareDisappointing vaccine sales took the shine off GSK's (GSK) third quarter update and despite management reiterating full-year sales and profit guidance, the shares sank to the bottom of the FTSE, falling 3.6% to £13.99.The shares languish near one-year lows and sit just 14% above the five-year low, which mean

Shares up 17% over the past year5% rise in third quarter underlying group sales£500 million share buyback completedShares in Pearson (PSON) were up more than 3% to £11.13 as the education media group said it was on track to meet full year expectations in a third-quarter trading update.Underlying group sales growth, adjusted operating profit, interest and tax outlook for 2024 remain in line with

Third-quarter trading mutedFull-year margin seen downPre-tax profit target maintainedLooking through the third-quarter update from pest control and hygiene group Rentokil Initial (RTO) there was little to write home about, but the lack of further downgrades combined with the fact the stock price was at multi-year lows probably explains today's positive market reaction.The shares opened up 34p or a

We start the review on a positive note with the news of two small-cap IPOs (initial public offers), one in the healthcare space and one in the red-hot AI (artificial intelligence) space.Having sold its governance, risk and compliance software business to private equity earlier this year and returned £225 million to shareholders via a buyback and special dividend, business services group Marlowe (

There are investors who believe that the world's three hyper-scale cloud computing firms ? Amazon (AMZN:NASDAQ), Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) and Alphabet (GOOG:NASDAQ) ? have that market tied up. Shares believes that Oracle (ORCL:NYSE) has a very good chance of crashing the cloud party, that consensus growth estimates could prove too low, and that the stock ? up 60% already this year ? has a great cha

London's FTSE 100 opened in the red on Wednesday as investors assessed UK inflation data and looked ahead to a finely-balanced US interest rate call.According to CME FedWatch, there is a 63% chance the US central bank cuts by 50 basis points. There is a 37% likelihood it reduces the federal funds rate by 37%.However, sell-side consensus is backing a 25bp cut.'Speculation about a more aggressive cu

Stock prices in Europe were in the red on Friday morning, as investors await jobs data from the US after an ADP report on Thursday.The FTSE 100 index opened down 46.25 points, or 0.6%, at 8,196.43. The FTSE 250 was down 36.18 points, or 0.2%, at 20,726.32, and the AIM All-Share was down 8.14 points, or 1.1%, at 750.98.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.7% at 819.72, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.4% at 18,252

REA controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp expresses interestOnline property portal faces competitive threat from CoStar-backed On The MarketYear-to-date Rightmove shares up 20%Shares in Rightmove (RMV) soared 22% to 677p in morning trading as Australian property listings company REA (controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp) said it was considering making an offer for the online property portal

European stocks were higher on Thursday midday, as investors prepare for a US GDP print, while top US White House aide Jake Sullivan met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.The FTSE 100 index was up 24.13 points, or 0.3%, at 8,367.98. The FTSE 250 was up 42.84 points, or 0.2%, at 21,109.71, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.36 points, or 0.3%, at 772.66.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 836.44, the

Stock prices in London opened softly in the green on Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of upcoming US GDP data.The FTSE 100 index opened up just 4.00 points at 8,347.85. The FTSE 250 was down 11.24 points, or 0.1%, at 21,055.63, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.74 points, or 0.2%, at 772.04.The Cboe UK 100 was up slightly at 834.44, the Cboe UK 250 was down a little at 18,563.12, and the

Renold (RNO:AIM) 54.71pMarket Cap: £123.9 millionMaking industrial chains and specialist torque transmission products doesn't sound very exciting but 150-year-old Renold (RNO:AIM) happens to be rather good at it and today is the second largest player globally.The global market is very fragmented and despite being a big fish Renold's market share is under 10% in terms of revenue, providing a sign

At the end of last year the market was pricing in 1.7% worth of US rate cuts for 2024 but here we are in late August and the Federal Reserve is yet to pull the trigger, largely due to stickier-than-expected inflation.However, after a series of false dawns, we may finally be approaching the point where the Fed acts, with a rate cut widely expected on 18 September. The debate largely centres on whet